I'm jumping on Graham's band-wagon here and agreeing that "AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary". How about web-casting the presentations (at a minimum) to AOIR members? And perhaps on a payment basis for non-members? This would be extremely advantageous for those us that just can't make it that year to the conference. Kylie Kylie J. Veale | Brisbane, Australia GradDipInvEnv, MInetStds(Design) PhD Candidate Media & Information, Curtin University of Technology email: kylie@veale.com.au www: http://www.veale.com.au -----Original Message----- From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Graham Longford Sent: Thursday, 7 October 2004 3:34 AM To: air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Subject: [Air-l] Why not make Aoir 5.0 "Virtual conference"? Two quick points re. the suggestion to take AOIR 5.0 "virtual". Firstly, as we know, much of the most important action at conferences takes place f2f and outside the formal proceedings - networking in hallways, ad hoc dinners, late-night drinking, etc. Obviously this puts colleagues with limited travel funding and/or from distant locations at a disadvantage, but I doubt these dynamics and interactions can be easily replicated in cyberspace (oh oh, I may have just started something ;-)). Secondly, on the technical side (and in response to Bernie's helpful intervention), the degree of technical and logistical complexity should not be underestimated here. Just setting up cybercafes, ensuring internet and/or wireless access onsite etc. can be a challenge (often involving negotiating with hotel management and tech staff etc.) Past AOIR local organizing committees can speak to this I'm sure. Webcasting would seem to be a feasible option, provided good tech resources and support are in place, and it still offers a certain degree of interactivity. In principle, AOIR should do what it can to take advantage of technology to increase remote access to conference proceedings, but this effort should be complementary, as opposed to one which seeks to substitute for f2f conferences altogether. In addition, technological initiatives should not be allowed to drain undue energy and resources from the effort of mounting the f2f event, which is a danger. Perhaps others could propose and coordinate pilot initiatives (along the lines of the AOIR Toronto conference blog), and report back to the membership and executive re. their effectiveness. These could feed into a more formal plan to virtualize aspects of the AOIR conference in coming years. My two cents worth. Graham -- Graham Longford, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community Informatics Faculty of Information Studies 140 St. George St., Rm 652 University of Toronto Toronto, ON M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-4715 Fax: 416-971-1399 _______________________________________________ Air-l-aoir.org mailing list Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org